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Reviewed by:
  • Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer
Gardner, Sally. Maggot Moon; illus. by Julian Crouch. Candlewick, 2013. [288p]. ISBN 978-0-7636-6553-1 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 8–12.

As a lifelong resident of Zone Seven, fifteen-year-old Standish Treadwell is accustomed to a brutal existence of poverty, hunger, and abuse. He lost his parents to the tyrannical regime of the Motherland, and now it appears that he has also lost his best friend, Hector, who has mysteriously vanished in the night. Standish knows that it’s only a matter of time until those who took Hector come for Standish and his grandfather, both of whom are privy to the secret Hector discovered: the impending moon landing, the event that will make all other countries cower under the Motherland’s thumb, is fake, and there is evidence to prove it. Don’t be deceived by the short length or the presence of illustrations: this is a hellish vision of a dystopian world where food is a rare commodity and trust even more so. In brief but emotionally charged chapters, Standish offers a bleak picture of neighbors reporting on neighbors, teachers brutally beating students to death, and a despotic regime that looks eerily like Nazi Germany had the Axis powers succeeded. Standish’s tone switches with lightning speed from recklessly hopeful to violently despondent to casually aloof as he attempts to reclaim just a portion of what has been taken from him, and readers will be haunted by the sacrifice he ultimately makes long after they finish this quick read. The black and white illustrations of rats, flies, and maggots that populate the margins play out in a flip-book technique to reveal a horrific but powerful visual analogy to Standish’s plight. Ideal for spurring discussion in both book clubs and English classes, this could also easily be used in a history curriculum to imagine the “what if” scenarios of the past. [End Page 332]

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